Well, friends, I almost yielded to temptation yesterday evening.

Okay, now, you wretches; get hold of your imaginations! It wasn’t anything lurid or atrocious. Heck, it’s only mildly interesting, at best. It certainly wasn’t scandalous though it would have, technically, I suppose, turned me into a lawbreaker. So, to prevent further speculation: I almost burned some leaves in my yard.

I had what seemed like pretty good reasons for my intended violation of the county’s burn ban: the wind was below ten miles an hour, humidity was steadily increasing in late evening, it was a small, piled row of leaves that would have burned up within fifteen minutes or so, the proposed burn area was surround by gravel or green grass, and I had a water hose at the ready with plenty of reach.

I’d set a can of accelerant on the patio and waited until dusk so the wind was at a minimum, the humidity was on the upswing, and… the smoke would have been minimally noticeable. Ahh, yes, there’s the rub, isn’t it? Apparent concern with being caught in violation of the burn ban.

I was trying to find that optimal point where both flames and smoke would be least visible. I even thought about parking a couple of our vehicles to block the view of the leaf pile from the highway. That’s the way it is with us wannabe criminals, isn’t it? Trying to minimize the likelihood of detection? Trying to enhance the odds of successful evasion?

Just before I was going to set the leaves on fire, I thought about the neighbors and my own indignation when other people ignore the burn ban. I guess everyone has reasons why they think it shouldn’t apply to them, don’t they? “I’ve disked a swath around the field.” “There’s nothing around here that will catch fire.” “The wind’s not even that strong.”

Whatever… the final thought that steered me away? I didn’t want to be that guy.

There was no way the neighbors wouldn’t notice the smoke at some point. Anyone driving by on the old road behind our place would probably see the flames, no matter how low. I don’t want the folks next door or nearby or just passing by to realize that I am a scofflaw.

And it was hardly a case of pulling an ox out of the ditch on the Sabbath. No redeeming necessity or higher purpose. The truth about my situation? I thought it would be easier to burn the leaves than to load them into the truck and haul them down the hill to the burn pile. Well, that, and the fact that I may be a pyromaniac.

There are all sorts of rationalizations readily available whenever we want to believe the rules or laws shouldn’t apply to us in certain situations. And, we can usually convince ourselves that we won’t get caught. Once we’ve generated our excuses and assured ourselves of our ability to get by with it, integrity and character are the only obstacles left in the way.

That reminded me of an old quote I remembered yesterday evening when I finally decided not to burn the leaves. “Character often gets credit for what properly belongs to cold feet.” Well, there ya go…

But, regardless of the true reasons or motivation, whatever keeps us from doing the wrong thing, is a good thing.